So some cool and not-so-cool things have been happening to me since my last post. Here's an example of something not-so-cool: Yesterday, I backed my new car into a pole!! #!$!@&! Gah! Gah! It's official: I.Am.A.Total.Idiot. I've been driving since I was 16 years old and this has got to be a first. I was pulling out of a parking spot and heard a big *thump!* I honestly did not see the huge-ass wooden pole behind me! Now, there are a bunch of tiny white scratches on the left side of my bumper. I tried to wax it off last night, but alas, the evidence is still there. Well, on the bright side, there is no dent! *sheepish grin*

So here's some cool goings-on in my life since my last post:

The hubs and I went to movies for the first time post-baby: We went to see Spiderman 3 on IMAX no less! We had a lunch date the day after our anniversary. We went to eat at Legal Seafoods (no fancy dinner at Bouley like our first anniversary) and then caught the flick. It was a great day --the movie wasn't an A+ but it was still entertaining to me. I can go on and on about how the storyline sucked (I've read my fair share of comic books), but that's a different post altogether. I'm just happy to watch a movie with the hubs! He knows I like going to the movies and that's something we can't do anymore post-baby unless there's some strategic planning involved.

I'm going back to Cali: San Francisco, to be precise! We're going there for a wedding (wedding number 3 of 7!) and decided just to make a whole holiday out of it. I'll be gone July 6 - July 10th and will be celebrating my 31st birthday over there. It should be fun! The one and only time I went to San Fran was back when I was 14 years old; the only things I remember are going to Chinatown, driving down that crooked road, and my little brother getting chicken pox. This time, I'll definitely take advantage of what San Fran has to offer. The best part is that my friend Karen will be meeting me up there!

A label is interested in my band! My bandmates and I are so excited because this label "expressed interest" in our band and is inviting us to go play for them. It's an indie label, but a label nonetheless and kind of a big deal for us! Perhaps my dream of becoming a rock star may come true after all *claps-hands-in-glee*...and if that doesn't work...

We're entering American Idol: The Band! We just recorded a show we did last night and we'll be sending our audition tape to them. Wish us luck!

And last but not the least...

I'm moving! *wink-wink* You'll definitely find out more details in just a couple of days ...so please check back here! Update: Here's a hint...I won't be packing any bags!

Today is the 6th wedding anniversary for the hubs and I. I thought I'd "rerun" this post I wrote from June 1, 2005.

The True Story of How We Met and Other Curious Adventures: During the summer of 1997 (before the beginning of my junior year in college), my good friend Julie said "Kat, I have the perfect guy for you! His name is Mark and he’s good friends with my sister." Julie knew full well that I was already dating someone else (but she never did like him which is why she did a plug for Mark). As it turns out, Mark was the older brother of my friend Daryl who went to school with me. By then, Mark had already graduated from NYU and was already doing the whole career thing. I thought nothing of it and then actually met Mark at a party a few months after my conversation with Julie. Eventually, Mark started calling me and we would chat. I remember our first full-length conversation. He basically bragged about himself and of how content he was in life and of how he is so sure of himself…yadda, yadda, yadda. I remember hanging up and thinking "damn, what an arrogant bastard. I sooo do not like him." But he kept chasing me and calling me. I kept on talking to him and kept mum on the fact that I did have a boyfriend (who I was trying to get rid of –we were always on-again/off-again). I had assumed Julie told him at the very least, and to me, I just considered him to be a friend.

The Library Incident: One night, Mark asked me to go meet up with him and his friends. I really didn’t want to go out with him, nor did I want to just straight up and say "I’m not interested in you." Like I said, I considered Mark only as ‘friend-material.’ So I told him, "no thanks, but I really have to study. I have to go to the library." Mark said fine. Later that evening, I went out my then-bf and we decided to go play pool. Lo and behold, who did I see at the pool hall? Mark, of course, was there. I felt like such a fool. I was blatantly caught in a lie. I mustered all my courage, acted nonchalantly and went up to Mark to say hi. He coolly replied, "oh nice to see you here." I think I tried to save myself by saying something like "oh I finished studying already" but I don’t remember. After I got home, Mark called and we got into a heated argument over the phone. We fought as if we were already boyfriend and girlfriend. We talked and yelled at each other for more than an hour! After that incident, we didn’t talk to each other for a while.

The You-Kissed-Me Incident (aka The Throwing Up on His Shoes Incident): Fast forward a few months later. I believe during the winter, circa 1997, Mark and I saw each other again at a club called El Flamingo’s (which no longer exists). At that time, Mark was roomies Kay, a girl I started to hang out with from work. So Kay and I were doing shots at the bar when Mark strolls up. By then, I was already quite buzzed and we decide to do another shot of tequila. So we do a shot all together and I suddenly cross the line from very buzzed to very drunk. For some reason, Mark and I then start to kiss. For the record, he kissed me! (Though we argue to this day who really kissed who. I swear he kissed me!). After the kiss, a wave of nausea just shoots through my body and I promptly throw up on Mark’s shoe. Was it the tequila or the kiss? Hehehe…. Then this big bouncer guy comes up and yells at me for throwing up. The bouncer basically drags me off and kicks me out of the club sans jacket in the middle of winter. Nice Mark felt compelled to come with me, and basically watches over me as I continue to throw up by the dumpster outside the club. Eventually, I think Mark helps me get back in the club. I spend the rest of the night sitting on the floor of a bathroom stall as the world spins around me. I don’t know what happened to Mark that night. We don’t talk for a while.

The Matchbook Incident: Early November 1998 at (the now-defunct) Pageant Lounge. Mark’s birthday. I get there with my friend Julie and chat with our friends. Mark was there of course, and we start talking. He was still clearly very interested in me. I was too and we spend most of the night talking. As it was, I also found his other friend quite interesting as well. Funny thing was, each time I tried to talk to Mark’s friend, Mark would be at my side with a quickness! Mark and I basically flirted throughout the night as Mark gets progressively buzzed. Before I leave, I write down my number and gave it to Tony to give to the friend. I say bye to Mark as Julie and I get into a cab. Tony then shoves Mark in the cab with us and before you know it, he comes home with me. I told me, "well I’m calling your brother to come get you." Drunk Mark does not speak. So we get to my room, Mark passes out on the floor. I keep kicking him and telling him he was not staying. I call his brother Daryl to come get him. Daryl comes over, and Mark mumbles "I can’t get up." So Daryl asks him if he can just stay and I reluctantly agree. As soon as Daryl leaves, Mark gets up from the floor as if nothing happened, goes to the bathroom to take off his contacts, and then proceeds to sleep on my bed! I tell him, "you are not sleeping next to me!" He again pretends to fall asleep. So I wedge a pillow between us, hit the lights, and sleep. I promptly kick him out the next day. He apologizes, claims to not even remember how he got there, and then tells me he has the matchbook with my number on it. A week or so goes by and we don’t talk. He didn’t even call to apologize. For some reason, I find myself calling him (pity, maybe?). We talk. Towards the end of the conversation, I once and for all, agree to go on our first date together. The rest is history.

Even while I was preggo, I was already aware of the “social landscape of new motherhood.” It's been mentioned in parenting magazines, and has been the subject of many a 'chick-lit' books. And what is that exactly? In a nutshell, new moms will expect to find themselves thrown back into a high school-like hierarchy of social status and new territory akin to that of the dating scene. Still not making sense? Let’s start with labels. There is the "high-end mom" = mom who has the latest hot stroller, the cool diaper bag, the latest educational toy, etc.; there is the "granola/earth mom” = mom only into organic foods, clothing, toys, etc. Or you can be a “hot mom” = a mom who has bounced back into shape, still wearing fashionable clothing and can balance a cappuccino on one hand and pushing a pram with the other. We're talking mom cliques. There are the die-hard breastfeeders who shun the formula moms, and SAHMs vs. working moms. There are definitely new associations you end up making –like making sure you set up playdates with kids of the same background as yours, be friends with moms who have the same parenting style as you, etc. It may not be as blatant as some magazines describe it, but you'll definitely notice it.

I do see this to a certain extent whenever I’m in the city with the baby. In the Upper East Side, there is a surplus of moms and nannies pushing Bugaboos (a stroller starting at $700) and nothing else. I see them in cafes chatting with one another, looking cool and posh. In the Village, I see more eclectic-mom types like myself, and so on. In my little neighborhood though, it’s not as common –yet. Moms in my area come in all shapes, sizes, and colors that they don't fit a specific niche. (Also, I haven’t really met any other moms that I associate with on a regular basis aside from the moms I’ve met in daycare.) So I can’t really comment on the types of moms out there. Nonetheless, I think moms are always on the lookout for other moms that they can bond with. When I’m at the playground, I definitely scout around to see which mom I can chat up. Likewise, I’ve been approached by other moms who try to pick me up.

One time, I was at our local playground (conveniently located at the end of my block) when this woman starts to chat me up. She was Chinese, probably about 5-10 years older than me, and had an 10-month old baby.

Her: Oh hello. How old is your child?Me: He’ll be 12 months in two weeks.Her: Wow, he’s walking already! Victoria (gesture to child in swing), can’t walk yet. When did he start walking?Me: A little before he was 11 months old. He’s still very wobbly (and as if to demonstrate, rockstar baby trips and falls).Her: Are you home? Or do you work?Me: Oh I work, I just got out of work a little early. How about you?Her: I work too, and she’s in daycare.Me: Oh me too.Her: Which daycare?Me: Oh he’s in X daycare on 10th st.Her: Oh where is that? Do they have a lot of white kids in there?Me: Uhm..yeah, it’s pretty mixed.Her: How much do you pay a week? Is it expensive? Are you able to afford it easily? Etc..

At that point, I got kinda weirded out by her personal financial questions, so I bow out of the conversation and turn to Jakey by saying “oh do you want to get on the slides now? Come on let’s go…” Since then, I’ve seen the mom around but I don’t think she remembers talking to me. I always see her chatting up other parents though!

I myself haven’t had the guts to approach other moms other than commenting on how cute their kid is and doing small talk. I think it’s really hard find other moms your age that a) have a child close in age to your child; and b) have the same interests as you. I'm currently trying to 'pick up' the mom of this cute kiddo that rockstar baby plays with in daycare. I haven't had a conversation with her yet (since she does her drop off/pick up earlier than I do); but since she dresses her baby kinda punk-y like sometimes, I keep thinking we'll get along.

I really wish my friends and I had kids at around the same time. We'd have built-in playdates and we already know we get along. A close friend I have with kids moved to Georgia (thanks Trish!) But at least there's Antonion (my friend Sol's baby) --I think by the time rockstar baby hits two, they can actually start playing with each other and actually realize it (as opposed to just staring at each other).

Until then, I'm still on the prowl. I have yet to see another mom wearing Vans with skulls on them or a shirt with a band’s name on it. Is that too much to ask? Should I put out a personal ad?

Despite my wanna-be rockstar leanings, I don't actually have a rockstar lifestyle. *gasp* But you all knew that. The past week, I actually had a semi-rockstar weekend complete with coming home at odd hours of the night, getting sick, passing out, and meeting random strangers! Oh. Yes.

Thursday, my band played at the Iron Monkey along with our friend's band, Kilsy. We played at around 10:45 pm and it was a great show. Kilsy, however, totally rocked it as she usually does. Her band is just amazing. Our bands have played together a few times and it's always a fun show. I was even kinda flirting with her drummer (well, flirting for me is saying "wow, you were great!" and then leaving. Ha!) Anyway, I recommend you check her out! By the time I got home, it was almost 2 am and of course, I had work the next day.

Then Friday night, I had to haul my tired-ass to dinner with Eileen Joy, a friend I met on-line back in the day. It was one of EJ's last nights in the city. She just completed her Masters of Social Work degree and was headed back to Cali after her graduation. Congrats!! We all ate at Jeeb (where I had my 30th bday) and then went out for a quick drink afterwards. Well, I got a quick drink (and didn't even finish $10 glass of Baileys on the rocks) and made a mad dash home. I got home at around 1 am, but I was dead-tired from the night before that I was slightly delirious by the time dinner came along. You know how lightheaded you get from lack of sleep? Right?? But I had a lot of fun catching up with EJ, Jason, Gail, and Anna. I really wish I could've stayed longer!

So by Saturday, I just didn't have any energy. However, my family and the hubs' family all met up for brunch to celebrate Mother's Day a day early. We had a good time eating Japanese food at Minado. Rockstar baby didn't have fun though...

Saturday night, I met up with Analyse from France --making this my second "EB" with a fellow blogger. Ana was so cool and chic! She rocked a French accent with her English and Tagalog and we chatted about NYC, the babies, and how neat France is for subsidizing all her baby-related expenses. (Dang, Europe is the shit when it comes to maternity leave!). I really wish I got spend more time with her, but she was only in NYC for a hot minute. I did offer to be her tour guide for the next time she comes to visit.

All this time though, rockstar baby has been sick. As in mucus-y coughing, continuous fevers, and a total loss of appetite. I was/am a mess. He'd be better and then revert back to being sickly. I took him to the doctor who put him on a nebulizer for his cough, but then his fevers still continued. He actually had a 100-degree fever when we went out to eat on Saturday! So the rest of the weekend was spent at home taking care of him. My mother's day was crap since his fever went up even higher on Sunday and all he wanted to do was sleep and not eat. I have to literally force him to drink a bottle. Once again, he lost a few pounds and looks like a sickly little urchin. Argh.

Here he is managing a smile despite everything...

A sickly rockstar baby makes for a cranky rockstar mom. Yesterday, I came home early from work; he had a fever of 104 at the daycare (he had a normal temperature when I dropped him off, though). Luckily, I had already scheduled an appointment with his doc. So off we went to the doctor for the third time in less than 12 days. This time, he was diagnosed with bronchitis and was prescribed antibiotics. Hallelujah! So I took a half-day off and today off from work to help him recuperate.

I need to catch some ZZzzzzs. This rockstar lifestyle is making me sleepy.

Here's an eclectic mix of pictures I want to share. As they say, pictures are worth a thousand words...so why describe when you can show!

Today was my mother's birthday. Getting to Queens for her birthday lunch was a fiasco; there was a bike-a-thon in Manhattan and they closed down the highway I take. As a result, it took me 2 hours to get to Queens, when it usually takes me 30 minutes! I was cranky when I got there, and I'm sure I disappointed her when I was being masunggit. But please know I love you mom!

Happy Birthday to my Mom!

Rockstar baby's uncle Daryl gave him this car for his birthday. He loves riding in it and being pushed around the neighborhood. Today though, he realized it was also fun to push his bear Rupert II around!

Rockstar Baby with his Little Red Corvette

The hubs and I are invited to a total of no less than 6 weddings this year! This is number 1: the wedding of Myeong and Dhruv. It was held at Chelsea Piers in NYC and it was a very elegant affair.

So last night, I got into a car accident with rockstar baby in the car! We were literally two blocks away from our house when I decided to make a left turn at an intersection --from the right lane. You see, we were traveling northbound on a two-lane, one-way street. I was on the right lane, and the car I hit was on the left lane. For some insane reason, I forgot all about the fact that I was on a one-way street. What I did was look for oncoming traffic to make the left, totally forgetting about the other lane next to me! So I turned and smacked into another car. Lucky for her, she saw me in time and swerved. The only point of contact was the right side, tail end of her car against the left front of my car (towards the headlights). Both cars suffered just scratches and no dents. But of course, the whole thing was scary (and could've been much worse. I prefer not to dwell on the what-could-have-been-worse part). Rockstar baby was fine and didn't know anything happened. But I was freaking out on the inside to think of how irresponsible I was. I mean, I've traveled down this same road since 2001 and last night, I just blanked out and made a left turn!

The lady I hit totally yelled and screamed. Even after I said "I'm at fault, I'm sorry. Let's just call the police." I understand the whole yelling and screaming thing. I probably would've done the same thing. However, she started yelling again while we were waiting for the police! She actually approached my window just to yell at me, and while I was holding the baby. Puh-leaze! I had to tell her 5 times NOT to yell and that it wasn't necessary to yell. The whole time, I said about only 5 sentences to her (incorporating the request not to scream at me).

The good thing was the cop who helped us out could totally tell the lady was being such a beeyatch. He even said he talked to her about being more civil and not to worry that much about the accident. It happens, mistakes happen, he says. He was nice, and helped make the whole ordeal easier.

But I must say, it sucks being the one at fault at a car accident. This is my 4th car accident and the first one in which I was at fault (the other times, people hit me). I mean my mind was and is still filled with "I-should've-done-this" scenarios, "what-if" scenarios, and worrying about what a terrible mom I was for putting the kid in danger. I don't care if I get hurt. Now, it's all about the baby. I'm definitely still reeling over this even though I may sound flippant about the whole situation.

But that was that. Later that evening, I actually had to play at a gig. I really contemplated on not going and just mope at home. But I figured I have to move past the accident and that the show must go on. So while I was actually scared to drive, I went and made it to our 10 pm show at The Annex. It went well and we were quite happy with the sound levels in general; considering I was using a 30-watt amp, I thought it came out well.

Also, we actually recorded the show for the first time. You can hardly see our faces, but I'm the one on the left. I was crap and sang quite shittily (is that a word?) but the show must go on... Here are some clips from last night's show:

Song: I Can't Wait

Song: Dear John (the new song I mentioned on a previous post)

Song Title: Ghost

Song Title: Standing in the Rain

So there you go. For folks who've made comments before about wanting to see me play and/or thinking I can play guitar and sing: well now you know the truth! I told you I wasn't good, and now there is evidence! LOL...